Originally published Wednesday, December 24, 2008 at 12:00 AM
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NFL | Jaguars' James "Shack" Harris resigns position
James "Shack" Harris' first personnel move set the tone for his tenure in Jacksonville. His last two sealed his fate. Harris resigned as the...
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — James "Shack" Harris' first personnel move set the tone for his tenure in Jacksonville. His last two sealed his fate.
Harris resigned as the team's personnel chief Tuesday, taking the fall for a franchise that flopped this season and avoiding what might have been an embarrassing return to Baltimore this weekend.
"With the way we played last year and then coming back this year and having a below-average season, I didn't think it was going to go as far as Shack, but it has," defensive end Paul Spicer said. "It's affected a lot of guys, a lot of lives, a lot of families. A lot of people's lives have been changed."
Coach Jack Del Rio already told strength and conditioning coach Mark Asanovich he would not return for a seventh season, likely the scapegoat for all of Jacksonville's injuries problems in 2008. Veteran guards Tutan Reyes and Charles Spencer were waived Monday. Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams and special-teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis could be gone, too.
Hanson a gem
for winless Lions
The winless Detroit Lions don't have much to be proud about.
Jason Hanson is an exception.
He has made an NFL-high 95.5 percent of his field goals, a record 41 kicks from 50-plus yards during his career, and no one in league history has been more accurate on shorter field goals.
Hanson, though, doesn't earn much praise because the Lions are the NFL's first 0-15 team and are 31-96 since 2001 in what has been the league's worst eight-season stretch in more than a half-century.
"I've won only 31 games here, but I can say I'm playing with a Hall of Famer because he's a teammate," center Dominic Raiola said. "His resume speaks for itself."
Hanson's only miss this season was blocked. His eighth 50-yard kick — in as many attempts — earlier this month at Indianapolis broke Morten Andersen's career record.
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He's made 87.1 percent of his kicks inside the 50, leading all kickers with at least 250 attempts.
The 17-year veteran has made 406 field goals, trailing just five kickers in the record books, since Detroit selected him out of Washington State in the second round of the 1996 draft.
But his second and last Pro Bowl appearance was in 2000 because he's been stuck with playing for the lowly Lions.
"Of course you think, 'Would it have been different if I had gone to a high-profile team like Dallas, Pittsburgh or New England'?" the 38-year-old Hanson said. "But the special teams coaches, snappers and holders I've had here have helped me have the career I've had.
"My contract is up this year and they've started talking about a new deal. I want to stay here. I've been here so long, I want to finish in Detroit. I'd hate to leave, but you never know what's going to happen business-wise."
FedEx won't deliver
for Super Bowl TV
At first blush, FedEx's decision to skip the Feb. 1 Super Bowl XLIII broadcast on NBC seems to make as much sense as one of the Super Bowl teams volunteering to abandon the forward pass.
FedEx, after all, has been using Super Bowl commercial breaks to build brand awareness for 18 years, dating back to 1989. And it is the NFL's official delivery service sponsor. But there's a time and place for everything, FedEx wrote in a Monday blog post:
"As a country, we are in unprecedented economic waters. And as a responsible employer of more than 290,000 employees and contractors worldwide, there is a time to justify such an ad spend and a time to step back.
Notes
• The reinforcements have arrived in the Denver Broncos' battered backfield: Cory Boyd and Alex Haynes, both of whom were recently cut by the team.
The Broncos needed them back after losing Selvin Young (back) and P.J. Pope (hamstring) to season-ending injuries Sunday against Buffalo. They are the sixth and seventh tailbacks the Broncos have had to place on injured reserve this season.
• Carolina has placed defensive tackle Gary Gibson on injured reserve with a hand injury, further depleting the most banged-up position on the team.
• Running back Jason Wright (ankle) was placed on injured reserve by the injury-riddled Cleveland Browns.
Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
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